Paper-feeding machine.



H. HALLSTREAM. PAPER FEEDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MARI. 4. I915.

Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET I.

H. HAL'LSTREAM.

PAPER FEEDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4. 1915.

1,237,032. 1 Patented Aug. 14,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

fitfzzcaaeq Jmvear .74 wnWM %W M H. HALLSTREAM.

PAPERFEEDING'MACHINE. APPLICAT10N FILED MAR- 4.1915.

Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET 'r' STT s, PATENT Eric. I

HENNING HALLS'IREAM, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CROSS PAPER I FEEDER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF'MAINE.

PAPER-FEEDING MACHINE. 7

To all whom it may concern.

Be it knownthat I, I-IENNING HALL- STREAM, a citizen of the United States, re-

siding at Brockton, in the county of Plym- 011th and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Paper-Feeding Machines; and I do'hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to that class of paper feeding machines in which a bank of feathered or fanned out sheets is fed to combing wheels which separate the sheets and advance the top sheet so that it may be removed and presented to machines or devices for further manipulating or acting upon it.

It has been customary in machines of this type to support the bank of feathered sheets upon a feed table, and to feed the bank to the combing wheels by tapes which underlie the bank back of the combing wheels. With this arrangement, the combing wheels while in action press the bank against the stationary surface of the feed table, with a resulting frictional 'resistance to the advance of the bank by the tapes, in case the feed or a part of the feed takes place during the combing interval. It is one object of the invention to avoid this resistance to the advance of the bank, and to also improve the feeding To this end the tapes action. of the tapes. are arranged to underlie the combing wheels so that the wheels press the bank against the tapes and cooperate with them in feeding the bank bodily forward. To meet the practical requirements of a successful comber feeder, the combing wheels "should be so mounted that they may be adjusted laterally to bear upon the marginal spaces of the sheets upon which the machine may be op-- erating: The tapes are accordingly so ar-,

ranged that some one of them will underlie each combing wheel when adjusted for the particular size of sheets being operated upon.

It is a further object of the invention to provide novel and improved means for actuating and controlling the bankfeeding mechanism whereby its operation is rendered more uniform and reliable.

The various features of the invention will readily nderstand am an in p ction f Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March '4, 1915. Serial No. 11,941.

the accompanying drawings, and the follow- PatentedAug.14,191 7.'

ing detailed description of, the mechanism illustrated therein.

' In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation showing so much of a paper feeding machine as is necessary to illustrate the application of the present improvements thereto; Fig.2 is a detailed plan view of'the feedj table, showing the arrangement-of the tapes and combing wheels; Fig. 3'is a detailed side elevation of the feed table and tapes; Fig. L is a detailed side elevation showing the devices for operating and controlling the bank feeding mechanism; and Fig. 5 is a detailed end view of the parts shown in Fig. 4, looking toward the left.

- In the drawings the invention is illus trated as embodiedin the automatic paper I feeding machine known as the cross paper feeder. In this machine the bank of feath-' ered sheets is fed to the feed table 1 from a supply'table 2, the front end of which is arranged over the rear end of the feed table. The bank of sheets passes from the supply table to, the I feed table through a curved throat formed between thedrum 3 and the curved guides 4:. The bank upon the supply table rests, upon feed tapes 5'which pass around the drum 3, and the bank of sheets upon the'fee'd table rests upon the'feed tapes 6 which pass over pulleys secured to the shafts? and- 8. The feed tapes 6 and drum 8 areoperated at proper" intervals to advance or feed forward the bank of feathered sheets through feed mechanism which will be hereinafter described. The front end of the bank is fed forward by the tapes into position to be acted upon by two combing wheels 9 arranged on opposite sides of the medial line of the feed table, and independently controlled by mechanism which is fully sheets of the bank until the front edge of the top sheets is advanced into position between the delivery rolls 12 and 13, when the sheet engages the trips 11. and throwsinto operation the mechanism which raises the wheels. The delivery rolls then act to carry away the top sheet, after which the combing wheels are again lowered upon the pile.

In embodying the preferred form of the present invention in a machine having the construction and mode of operation above described, the feed tapes 6 which advance the bank of sheets over the feed table 1 are so arranged that they extend forward beneath that part of the bank which is engaged and operated upon by the combing wheels. The combing wheels are laterally adjustable so that they may be brought into position to act in the most eiiicient manner upon sheets of clilierent sizes. It is frequently desirable to so adjust the combing wheels that they will operate upon the blank marginal spaces of previously printed sheets.

A series of closely arranged tapes is there-' fore provided on each side of the medial line of the feed table, as indicated in Fig. 2, so that some one of the tapes will underlie each combing wheel when adjusted for the different sizes of sheets upon which the ma chine may operate. Tapes are also provided along the medial line of the feed board, and on each side of the closely arranged tapes, to properly support and carry forward the bank. In order to prevent the front edge of the sheet from bending down into the comparatively large opening required for the passage of the closely arranged tapes,

' ridge bars 14 are arranged between the tape carrying pulleys, and support and guide the edge of the sheet over the tape openings.

lVith the feed tapes arranged as above described to underlie the combing wheels,

the under side of the bank is pressed by the combing wheels against the tapes so that the pressure of the wheels upon the bank acts to. assist rather than to resist the feeding action of the tapes.

The mechanism shown for actuating the tapes to feed forward the bank of sheets comprises a ratchet wheel 15 connected by gearing with the drum 3 and tape pulley shaft 7, and operated upon by a reciprocating pawl 16. The pawl is mounted upon a pawl carrying lever 17. The teeth of the ratchet 15 are comparatively long, and the longest throw of the pawl is less than the length of two teeth. The construction and mode of operation of this pawl and ratchet for feeding the bankof sheets is substantially the same as that shown and described in the above patent. The devices through which the bank feeding mechanism is actu ated and'controlled, however, are, in accordance with the present, invention, modified and improved, so thatv the bank feeding mechanism may be operated with less power, and without putting unequal and undesirable strain and; pressure upon the cam shaft and other operating parts.

i the construction sl10Wn,, the

for reciprocating the pawl carrying lever 17 comprises a driving lever 18 which is re ciprocated by a crank 19 secured to the end of the cam shaft 10, and connected by a link 20 with the lever. The crank is so arranged that the driving lever 18 is swung toward the left in Fig. 1 during the combing inter val, i. e. the period during which the combing wheels act or may act upon the bank, and is moved toward the right during the period when the combing wheels are raised and the top sheet is; being taken away by the delivery rolls. Motion is transmitted from the driving lever 18 to the pawl carrying lever 1? through a driven lever comprising two arms 21 and 22 secured to a rock shaft 23, the arm 21 being connected by a link 24: to the lower end of the pawl carrying lever.

The arm 21 of the driven lever is provided lever during the movement of the driving lever in one direction. The driven lever will therefore move with the driving lever to, the end of the stroke of the driving lever in one direction. The means for connecting the driven lever to move with the driving lever during the stroke of the driving lever in the opposite direction, or toward the left in Fig. 1., consists of a sheet controlled coupling in the form of a latch 26 carried by the driven lever and arranged to engage a notch 2'7 in the end of the driving lever. The coupling latch 26 is secured to the end of a rock shaft 28 mounted in the lower ends, of the arms 21 and 22 of the driven lever, and is moved in a direction to engage the driving lever'by a coiled spring 29 The movement of the latch in either direction is determined by stop lugs 30 formed on the arm 22 of the driven lever, and arranged to straddle an arm 31 secured to. the latch carrying rock shaft 28. The, arm 31 is connected to one end of a ratchet bar 32, the other end of which is arranged to slide through a rocking bearing 33. The upp Surface of the ratchet baris provided with a series of teeth 8-1 arranged to be engaged by a stop pawl 3.5. The stop. pawl is mounted on a rock shaft 36 which; is provided with an arm 37. The end of the arm 37 is connected by a link 38v with a lever 39.- which is in turn connected by a pin 4:0, with an arm 41 which forms a part of the cut-out mechanism through which one of the combing wheels is raised when the sheet operates the corresponding trip 11.

lfVith the above construction the driven lever will be moved toward the left by the driving lever until the combing wheel has advanced the top sheet i nto; position to operate the .11.. when the. arm 41 wil be r the further movement of the driven lever.

The driving lever will then complete its movement toward the left, and during its return movement toward the right will engage the coupling lug 25 and carry the driven lever toward the right to the end of its stroke. The extent to which the driven lever is moved toward the left by the driving lever will thus depend upon the length of time during which the combing wheel re-.

mains in action, the movement being slight when the comb is short, and increasing with an increase in the length of the comb. When there is a long comb the movement of the driven lever will swing the pawl carrying lever through: a distance sufficient to advance the ratchet wheel 15 far enough to bring the succeeding tooth into position to be engaged by the pawl on its return stroke. During the next forward stroke of the pawl, therefore, the ratchet wheel will be advanced to feed forward the bank, and the length of this feed will depend upon the length of the comb. After this feed has taken place there will be no further feed until there is an increase in the length of comb. Each time the length of comb increases there will be afurther forward movement of the ratchet wheel, until these succeeding forward movements have been suflicient to bring another tooth into position to be engaged by the pawl on its return stroke. This is the mode of operation of the bank feeding mechanism of the patent above referred to. The movements imparted to the pawl through the driving and driven levers are positive movements in each direction, and the power required to actuate the driving and driven levers is only that required to feed forward the bank. When no feed takes place, the driving and driven levers move back and forth idly, and there is no strain or pressure on the cam shaft or actuating parts;

In the construction described the pawl and ratchet of the bank feeding mechanism is so arranged that the pawl is moved by the driving and driven levers in a direction to feed the bank during the combing interval. It will be understood, however, that this is not essential, and that a pawl and ratchet mechanism similar to that illustrated may readily be arranged to feed the bank during the interval between successive combs, by merely reversing the pawl and ratchet, so that the feeding stroke of the pawl will take place during the movement of the driving lever toward-the right, instead of toward the left. It should be also understood that the features of invention relating to the mechanism for operating and controlling the feed of the bank of sheets is not limited to a bank feeding mechanism having the construction and arrangement of pawl and ratchet shown and described, but that it may be employed with advantage to actuate and control any form of mechanism. adapted to properly feed a bank of feathered sheets to the combing wheels of a comber feeder.

While it is preferred to employ the spe cific construction and arrangement of parts shown and described in embodyingthe invent-ion in a feeder having substantially the 7 construction andv mode of operation of the cross paper feeder, it will be understood that this specific construction and arrangement are not essential to the broader features of the invention, and may be varied-or modified as found desirable or best suited to the construction of machine in whichthe inven- V bank of feathered sheets over the table so arranged that a tape will underlie each combing wheel when the wheels are adjust ed tobear on the marginal spaces of sheets of different sizes.

3. A paper feeding machine, having, in combination, a feed table, combing wheels, feed tapes for feeding a bank of feathered sheets over the table arranged to underlie the combing wheels, mechanism for raising anism for advancing the tapes during the combing interval.

4. A paper feeding machine, having, in combination, a feed table, combing wheels, feed tapes for feeding a bank of feathered sheets over the table arranged to underlie the combing wheels, mechanism for lowering the wheels on to the bank, sheet controlled means for raising the combing wheels, and sheet controlled mechanism for advancing the tapes during the combing interval.

5. A paper'feeding machine, having, in

.and lowering the combing wheels, and mechcombination, combing wheels, mechanism for feeding a bank of feathered sheets to the combing wheels, a reciprocating driver,

a driven member connected to transmit mo- .tlon to the feed mechanism, a coupling for connecting the driven member to the driver during the movement of the driver in one direction, and a sheet controlled coupling for connecting the driven member to the driver during the movement of the driver in the opposite direction.

6. A paper feeding machine, having, in combination, combing wheels, mechanism for feeding a bank of feathered sheets to the combing wheels, a reciprocating driver, a driven member connected to transmit motion to the feed mechanism, a coupling for connecting the driven member to move with the driver to the end of its stroke in one direction, and a sheet controlled coupling for connecting the driven member to move with the driver during a variable part of its stroke in the opposite direction.

7. A. paper feeding machine, having, in combination, combing wheels, mechanism for lowering the wheels, sheet controlled means for raising the combing wheels, mechanism for feeding a bank of feathered sheets to the combing wheels, a driver, mechanism for moving the driver in one direction during the combing interval and in the opposite direction during the interval between successive combs, a drive-n member connected to transmit motion to the feed mechanism and to move with the driver between successive combs, and a sheet controlled coupling for connecting the driven member and driver during the combing interval.

8. A paper feeding machine, having, in

combination, a feed table, combing wheels, feed tapes for feeding a bank of feathered sheets over the table, mechanism for actuating the tapes comprising a pawl and ratchet, a driven lever connected to reciprocate the pawl, a reciprocating driving lever arranged to engage the driven lever during its stroke in one direction, and a sheet controlled latch for connecting the levers during the stroke of the driving lever in the opposite direc tion.

9. A paper feeding machine, having, in

combination, a feed table, combing wheels,

mechanism for feeding a bank of feathered sheets over the table, a driven lever connected to transmit motion to the feed mechanism, a reciprocating driving lever arranged to engage the driven lever when moving in one direction, a latch mounted on the driven lever and arranged to engage the driving lever to connect the levers when the driving lever is moving in the opposite direction, a ratchet bar connected with the latch, a pawl arranged to engage the ratchet bar, sheet controlled cutout mechanism for throwing the combing wheels out of action, and connections between the cutout mechanism and the pawl for engaging the pawl with the ratchet bar.

HENNING HALLSTREAM.

Witnesses:

BURTON W. CARY, N; D. MOPHAIL.

Copies of this patent mav he obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

- Washington, D. G. 

